Thumbs Up Thumbs Down

Monday

Jul 1, 2013 at 12:45 PMJul 1, 2013 at 12:46 PM

Thumbs upStreet, BPU, emergency crews pick up pieces of stormA thumbs up and a thank you to all of the area emergency, street and Board of Public Utilities crews that labored in the aftermath of Thursday’s storm to get McPherson County back up and running.Between the down trees and limbs, accidents and the loss of power around the county, the hours were long and difficult, and the men and women who put in the time deserve our recognition and heartfelt thanks.

Sterling House honors fathersThumbs up this week go to Sterling House in McPherson for honoring Father’s Day June 15.The center hosted a Donuts for Dads day, with doughnuts, coffee and juice, as well as a small car show. Associates and children adopted residents whose families were unable to visit.The event was a great way to honor fathers who may have been feeling a little left out.

Kids Summer Series provides options to entertain kidsWe offer thumbs up to McPherson Main Street director Ann Engel for getting the Kids Summer Series up and running.The program will feature family friendly movies rated G or PG through Aug. 1 at the B & B McPherson Cinema IV.This is a fun, affordable way to get kids away from the computer and out of the house during the summer.

USD 418 offers use of school to day care after fireThumbs up to the McPherson Board of Education, who is allowing Kids Come First day care to use Washington Elementary School on a temporary basis following a fire on June 14.The day care was damaged from the fire, the cause of which is still unknown, necessitating in a temporary relocation until the building can be renovated.USD 418 offered the use of Washington after meeting with the day care staff.

ThumbssidewaysMcPherson, Marion Head Start won’t cut servicesWe give thumbs sideways to the news that the McPherson/Marion County Head Start program will not be forced to reduce services or staff levels for the coming school year.A federal sequester in March is cutting non-defense discretionary funding, leaving Head Start and Early Head Start programs nationwide facing 5 percent less money in 2013-2014.While the cuts won’t adversely effect those children in McPherson and Marion counties, a total of 475 Kansas children will be left without this coming year.

McPherson County has low unemployment, small hiring poolMcPherson County’s low unemployment rate is good news, but it also creates some hardships for industries in the county.The county boasted an unemployment rate of 4.3 percent in May. While McPherson County’s rate is up from April, the county still has the lowest in the region.Unfortunately, that creates a shallow pool of potential employees for industry in McPherson, as finding qualified candidates for open jobs can create road blocks for expansion.